Watersater79
10-05-2024, 10:59 AM
Obviously, the two are VERY similar genetically, but there are enough differences, that me and many other TA users agree that the Dutch themselves are amongst the most phenotypically distinct of European populations (despite being one of the least genetically distinct; they could hardly be genetically isolated since they reside on a flat plain!). There are shedloads of Dutch who just look, well, Dutch. As in they would have a pretty hard time passing as German as well. The Dutch look rather distinct, on average, from the English as well, yet apparently that is who they are closest to. Genetic calculators also place the Dutch as being closer to the Welsh than central Germans. I believe the English, themselves, plot slightly closer to the Dutch than the Welsh?
Concerning the differences with their eastern neighbours/neighbors, we know the Dutch are mainly descended from the Frisians, whilst Northern Germans are primarily descended from Saxons. Obviously, all the Germanic tribes were VERY closely related, but there were enough differences between the Frisians and Saxons that they ended up being in different countries (I will repeat, even though they both firmly ensconced, relatively close to each other, on the Northern European Plain; there was hardly a physical barrier between the two). However, the core aspect, I guess, is the pre-Germanic component within the northwest part of said plain. The migrants that arrived in Britannia in the Bell Beaker period came from what is now the Netherlands, so I assume, up to that point, the Netherlands had seen the greatest survival of the culture on the Continent. Many of the migrants' brethren, ofc, stayed and their ancestors are overwhelmingly responsible for the pre-Germanic element in the modern-day Dutch. I am then assuming that this 'Bell Beaker' element is far less profound in the neighboring German population. Otherwise, why else would the Dutch be genetically closer to the English than their German brethren and find intense genetic commonality with the Welsh and Scottish too?
Concerning the differences with their eastern neighbours/neighbors, we know the Dutch are mainly descended from the Frisians, whilst Northern Germans are primarily descended from Saxons. Obviously, all the Germanic tribes were VERY closely related, but there were enough differences between the Frisians and Saxons that they ended up being in different countries (I will repeat, even though they both firmly ensconced, relatively close to each other, on the Northern European Plain; there was hardly a physical barrier between the two). However, the core aspect, I guess, is the pre-Germanic component within the northwest part of said plain. The migrants that arrived in Britannia in the Bell Beaker period came from what is now the Netherlands, so I assume, up to that point, the Netherlands had seen the greatest survival of the culture on the Continent. Many of the migrants' brethren, ofc, stayed and their ancestors are overwhelmingly responsible for the pre-Germanic element in the modern-day Dutch. I am then assuming that this 'Bell Beaker' element is far less profound in the neighboring German population. Otherwise, why else would the Dutch be genetically closer to the English than their German brethren and find intense genetic commonality with the Welsh and Scottish too?